Oakland North

24 Hours in Oakland

24 Hours in Oakland

April 25-26, 2010. We sent ten reporters out with their cameras, and invited community members to help us capture images of a day in the life of the city. Work and play, rest and motion: Just an ordinary 24 hours in Oakland. There will never be another one exactly like it.

11AM-2PM

An array of images shot with an iPhone. Locations include Downtown Oakland, Jack London Square and Oakland Chinatown. Photos by Richard Koci Hernandez

Father Aiden McAleenan with the newest member of St. Columba’s Church in the Golden Gate. Photo by Melanie Mason

Cleaning away the remnants of the meal at Lois the Pie Queen. Photo by Melanie Mason

Sunday Morning at Lois the Pie Queen. Photo by Melanie Mason

Sunday Morning at Lois the Pie Queen. Photo by Melanie Mason

Sunday Morning at Lois the Pie Queen. Photo by Melanie Mason

Sunday Morning at Lois the Pie Queen. Photo by Melanie Mason

Bikes parked while their owners stand in line at Mariscos Sinaloa. Photo by Kara Platoni

A worker wipes down the outdoor tables during the lunch rush at Mariscos Sinaloa. Photo by Kara Platoni

Picking up an order at the Mariscos Sinaloa taco truck at International and 22nd Avenue. Photo by Kara Platoni

Tostada de ceviche, tacos de camaron, tacos de pescado. Photo by Kara Platoni

Afternoon chess game outside of Starbucks on Piedmont Avenue. Photo by Kara Platoni

Strolling minstrels on Telegraph at 63rd Street Group calls itself “Drunken New Lost Catfish Ramblers”. They are hitching around the country, and stopped in Oakland, earning enough to buy a harmonica. (Bottom) Crossing the street at Alcatraz and Shattuck. Photos by jjreview and MSmithWriter

2AM-5AM

Fred Amare parks his taxi in front of the well-lit Greyhound bus station around 3:15am, not to pick up a passenger, but to eat a fresh, hot McDonald’s breakfast. (Right) Coffee was a popular option for folks coming through Colonial Donuts. Photos by Lillian Mongeau

Advantage Laundry is reputed to be the only laundromat in Oakland that is open 24 hours. At 2:45am only the night manager was inside. Photo by Lillian Mongeau

A women who did not want her face or name to be used starts a wash cycle around 2:45am. She said her choices were to do her laundry now or before she picked her niece up for school in the morning and it was easier, she said, to stay up than to get up. Photo by Lillian Mongeau

Ben Jones, 67, was born in Arkansas but said he “grew up in the marines.” Now he keeps Advantage Laundry clean with military precision. “Mr. Ben,” one customer said, “is one of the good ones.” Photo by Lillian Mongeau

By 3:00am Mr. Ben is done with the mopping. Photo by Lillian Mongeau

Zain Syed, a senior at Cal in interdisciplinary studies, carries his finished laundry out of Advantage Laundre on 50th and Broadway around 2:30am. Syed said the all-night laundromat was a good place to work. Photo by Lillian Mongeau

Empty diner stools wait for the morning rush of truck drivers stopping for a bite at Nikko’s Diner off the Nimitz freeway in East Oakland. Photo by Lillian Mongeau

A reminder to customers that neither the food, nor the service, is free at Nikko’s. Photo by Lillian Mongeau

Though everyone working and eating there referred to him as Allen, the late-night manager at Nikko’s Diner off the Nimitz freeway in East Oakland said the name he preferred was his Vietnamese name, Ly Hung. Photo by Lillian Mongeau

This street cleaning van raced along San Pablo Ave at 3:25am, swerving expertly out of the way of an illegally parked car and back again to the curb. Photo by Lillian Mongeau

Colonial Donuts on Lakeshore Drive. Photo by Lillian Mongeau

People, like this customer, who come to Colonial Donuts around 2am tend to stay all night, explained Viseth Han, 32, who was working the donut counter at 3:45am. Photo by Lillian Mongeau

The sky lightens over the hills behind downtown Oakland at 5:25am. Photo by Lillian Mongeau

5AM-8AM

Antonio Gutierrez unloads tomatillos and other ingredients for tamales he hopes to sell to raise money for his church. Photo by Will Jason

A produce buyer has a laugh after placing an order at Oakland’s wholesale produce market. Photo by Will Jason

Students from Oakland Technical High School prepare for a 7 a.m. hockey class at the Oakland Ice Center. Photo by Will Jason

Kyle Kaley during a hockey class at the Oakland Ice Center. Photo by Will Jason

Jamier Malone during a hockey class at the Oakland Ice Center. Photo by Will Jason

(left to right) Andy Wenzel, Lydia Greenburg, Ryan Babbit, and Jazmin Brown, students from Oakland Technical High School prepare for a 7 a.m. hockey class at the Oakland Ice Center. Photo by Will Jason

2 Comments

Ahhh…perfect photo rendition of the Necklace of Lights around the lake. Warm COO summer evenings are even better with a spin around the lake in the car or on a bike, the lights beckon softly and allow you to glimpse one of the jewels of the City of Oakland, Lake Merritt and the surrounding parklands, at perfect peace in the middle of the city (not every time but usually….)
Everyone loves “The Lake”

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